The End of an Era
by Ruby Casablanca
Summary: And they all live happily never after as the Winx Club struggles to make their way through life. The world overwhelms them, stealing their innocence and replacing it with something darker, and before long, nothing is as it was. Friendships are broken as lives are lost, and no one suspected something so evil to be lurking beneath something so pure.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **So I was looking back over this story after a verrrryyyy long haitus and realized that I had dropped it for a reason. It was a dead end, and there was so much more I could do with it had I done some things differently, and my style had completely changed since I had last started on this, so I re-did it. I took the old story down and have started re-vamping The End of an Era. It'll be a lot more detailed and more action will be included that will hopefully fill in some plot-holes. I really hope you guys like it because I did take a lot of time and thought into rewriting it. *First two chapters are the same* So, please enjoy and send me your feedback! Reviews are lovely!

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Prologue - How Far the Mighty Have Fallen

The empty halls echoed with nothing but my footsteps, each heeled click making another repercussion. I could hear the ringing from the last hundred footsteps, but they all sounded the same, beat-less, hopeless, and heartless. I didn't know why I let myself come here. I didn't know why I let myself drown in the symphony of despondent footsteps, but I did. I had to be here. No one else was.

The guards were silent as statues. They walked far behind me, careful not to step on my kimono's train. It almost blended in, the white fabric molding into the white marble floors, but at the same time, there was a sharp contrast. I never wanted to be a part of this place.

I passed cells full of angry, oppressed men and women all caged behind energy bars. They were drained of their power and left to rot in these small cells. It was a shame how fast war could transform even the most innocent of people. Even some of our religious leaders had turned into spiteful thieves and renegades during the wars. I was sure that if I was to look into the bars of one of these cells, I would recognize a few faces, but I didn't peek. This was not a place for reminiscing.

I continued walking, my gaze set forwards. I didn't dare look around me for fear of what I may see. I had seen a lot over the years, but I didn't hope to see anymore pain. I was alone enough as it was.

"Your Highness?" one of the guards behind me called quietly.

"Yes?" I asked, a tad bit caught off guard.

"This way."

"Of course." I nodded and the bowed to me as I passed, leading the way through an unknown building once more. But this building wasn't unknown. I had been here once before, but once was enough to have the route permanently engraved in my head.

I kept on walking, not turning or looking. I could hear the diamonds on my head jingle softly as I walked faster, clashing with my footsteps. My kimono kept me warm, but I still had shivers run down my spine as I neared my destination. I clasped my pale hands together as the two men behind me opened the thick, metal doors. I nodded to them and they shut the doors behind me, staying outside so no one could disturb me.

I sat down in the chair left out for me. The metal was cold and uncomfortable, but I didn't complain. I had been through much worse than sitting in a chair. There was a screen of magically protected glass between me and the other side of the room. I could feel the glass sucking at my power, but I didn't care about that either. I was in no danger here.

I waited for a while, just patiently sitting and waiting like I had been trained to in dame schools when I was a girl. I thought about what I was going to say when I saw him, how I was going to tell him...This was sure going to destroy him, and I knew how he would deal with it. I couldn't stop him if he chose what I think he would, no matter how much I cared for him. It was his life, not mine.

Suddenly, the doors opened and two more men in uniform stepped out holding a man in a blue prison suit. I gasped, wondering if this was the same man I had seen before a few years ago. It knew it was, but time had not been kind to him. His body looked weak and battered, his violet hair fell in long, stringy pieces across his face, and his eyes were hollow, devoid of any life they may have once held. He no longer looked like the strong, temperamental specialist I fell in love with all those years ago but instead, he was just an empty shell of a broken man.

I felt so defeated. He was the only one of us that ever put up a fight. He was the only one who stuck to his guns and went with it. I admired him for that and now he looked like he could barely life his head up off of the table.

"Musa..." he said monotonously. "It's been a long time..."

"Yes, it has." I agreed, trying to swallow the tears building up.

"But you still look the same." he said with a faint smile. "Still as beautiful as I remember..."

I blushed, letting the faintest bit of color reach my paled face. I never wore color anymore; I didn't see a need for it. Color was supposed to be for happy people, and I was far from happy. I hadn't been happy in a long time.

"Why-why are you here, Musa?" he asked, a tad bit of worry coming out of his voice.

"I just though you may want to hear the news, about our friends..."

"Friends? Last time I checked, we didn't have any of those left." he looked away and I had to fight off more tears.

"You know, what I mean..." I said through controlled breaths.

He didn't respond, but I decided to go on. I wasn't going to leave without telling him.

"Well, Melody is doing well, as is Harmony. They are both going off to Alfea next year... They miss you."

He didn't look up, his eyes remained on the table.

"Um, and, Brandon and Stella are...okay, for now. Marriage counseling should help them, hopefully."

"Old news..." he mumbled.

"And, Bloom died." I said in a low voice.

He looked up, a tad bit of shock mixed with years of sadness flooded his face. He sighed and looked down, trying to figure out what the body count was now. It was no use though. We had all lost count a long time ago.

"When?" he asked dejectedly when he finally looked back up.

"A few nights ago. Her illness finally caught up to her."

"And her kingdom?"

"Goes to her eldest daughter."

He nodded, running his hands through his hair.

"What about Sky?"

"I don't know."

"That's the story everyone's been telling me..."

I looked at his lonely face and wondered how I was going to tell him. How could I be the one to do this?

"Why are you really here Musa?" he asked, getting a good look at my troubled expression.

"I-I..." I stuttered. I couldn't do this.

"What is it Musa?" he asked, genuinely worried.

"It's-it's Tecna. She's dead." I let the words come out like vomit and immediately looked away, afraid of his reaction.

I was being paranoid though. When I looked back at him, all I could see were his eyes. They looked even more broken than before. He didn't cry, he had used all of his tears a long time ago, but I could tell he was dead on the inside. She was his last hope, his one saving grace. Without her, life would be meaningless, a feeling I had felt before. I had the greatest sympathies for him. I knew exactly what he was feeling, but I had someone there to pull me out of the hole I was in; he had no one.

I let him be for a few more moments. It was like watching a tragedy, one where you already knew the end but would give anything to change it. I couldn't change this ending though. The deed was already set in stone.

He looked at me with unfamiliar eyes, ones that betrayed his younger years. I felt like crying, breaking down right in the middle of the room. It was all too much to bear, all the pain over the years, all the loss, was nowhere near as excruciatingly painful as this.

"How?"

I looked up, my powdered face streaked with tears. No. I had to suck it up. I had to be strong for him.

"Poison. First Timmy, then herself." I said, hoping he would find some comfort in that.

All he did was look up, as if he was trying to look at the sky. I could hear him say something, but I couldn't make it out.

"So, that son of a bitch finally got what was coming to him." he said half-heartedly.

"Yes."

He nodded and looked away again. I saw him signal for his guards and I panicked.

"You're leaving?"

"Thank you for coming to see me Musa."

"I know what you're going to do next Riven. I know how the story's going to end."

"Do you?" he asked, his eyes almost lighting up.

"Yes. And I also know that I can't stop it."

"Musa-"

"Riven, before you-,... please, just tell me one thing." I looked up to him, my body shaking. "If I- if I could've done anything, anything at all, to fix all of this, just-"

I was sputtering now, tears running down my face. I felt his hand touch the glass, the warmth from his palm radiating the space around me. I looked up to see a smile on his face. It was a sad smile, one of goodbye, but it was a refreshing change, the first smile I'd seen in a long time.

"It wasn't your fault." he let the smile fall as he got up from the table. I followed suit and stood, oblivious to the discomfort from the chair, and collected myself. The two prison guards came from behind the glass and stood on either side of Riven while my two personal guards came in through the doors I had entered not even five minutes ago. It was a curious thing, time. It was something I never fully understood, but something I knew to be cruel. It had taken everything from me and given so little and I knew one day, it would come for me too.

"Musa, just do me one favor. Complete the circle. It's been broken for so long..."

"I will. I promise." I said, more tears falling from my cheeks. I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I had nowhere to begin.

He nodded to me as the guards escorted him back through the metal doors. That would be the last time I ever saw him, that I knew, but I didn't really get to see him. I haven't really seen him for years. The last time I saw Riven was years ago, right as he was walking out of the palace in his soldier's uniform. It was raining that night, the sky the blackest I had ever seen it, or at least by that point. I would see darker days, darker places, but never a darker face as the one I saw on him the day he left. It was years, but I can still remember that face. It was the one that haunted my dreams and thoughts and the one I would see cross Melody's face whenever she threw a tantrum. The memories, _that face_, as I had learned, would never go away.

"Your Highness?"

I looked back with puffy eyes, my mind flooded with the shadows of my past.

"Yes." I whispered, not all the way there.

"It's time to leave."

"Oh."

That was all I was capable of saying as my men lead me out of the room and back down the empty halls. I dared myself to look into the cages of the empty men and women, of the thieves and felons, but as I looked, I recognized none of them. All of them were as unfamiliar as the next, their faces blurring together into one, black mass. It took me a minute, but then I realized why I didn't know any of them. It was an obvious answer.

Everyone I knew was gone. The good, the bad, everyone was gone. Whoever wasn't taken by the war was a prisoner of life. I had watched mine fall apart from that very fateful rainy day all those years ago. I would give anything to go back and change that one moment in time, that one moment that could've changed everything.

Ever since, my life was like a broken mirror, all the shards lying across the floor, the frame distorted by lies and fighting. I could barely recognize myself through all of the mess I had made, the mess we had all made, the one that cost my friends and I everything. The tale we had spun our lives into was tragic, and it was one far too painful to retell, but it was easily summed up into one, ridiculous fairytale.

We all wanted our happily ever after, but, like every tragedy, it never came.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N**: And basically the italics mean that it is set in memoir POV, like Musa or any character is looking in from the past. When something is not italicized, then it is the actual event and things are actually happening. Usually if it involves dialogue, it will not be italicized. Also, if the POV is not Musa, as she is the main speaker, it will be notified in the chapter name. Enjoy :)

Chapter 1 - The Beginning of the End

_There was never really one moment in time that I could pinpoint and say, "That's when it all changed." All of our lives, all of the years, had really just blurred together into one, unrecognizable mass. You couldn't get a date, but you would remember an event, and in the beginning there were so many. So many, that we had lost track before we had even begun counting. It was in those early years that we dug our graves, when we burned bridges only to look back moments later in regret. But, we were all so young, so naive. We thought the world was such a small, welcoming place, only to receive its worst as our lives went on._

_I guess if I was to choose a starting place for our tale, it would be the only time of peace I had ever known. We were on Earth, living our lives and traveling the country as our fledgling band soared off into fame and fortune. We had no sooner sent Roxy to Alfea then we were packing up the Love and Pet shop to live on the road touring as a band. We had left our small, simple life in Gardenia to explore the world around us as we sang and performed to our hearts desire._

_At first, our lives as musicians were like living in a dream. The tours were a few stops in a few districts; we chose our own wardrobes, and most of all, we had fun. The people loved our music and we had a blast performing. It was every girl's dream and it was finally mine. I was singing my own songs in front of hundreds of fans with my best friends in the entire world. What more could I have asked for?_

_Then, once we grew from an inner-city fad to a nation-wide obsession, we went international, and that's when things started getting wild. At first, we were overwhelmed by the foreign welcomes and cultures we were being thrown into. Europe was huge, and Asia was even grander. We were like fish flopping on land and we had no idea what to do. But, just like anything else, we learned to adapt. We had to if we wanted to survive in the big leagues._

_From the outside, we looked like we had it all, and in truth we really did. We were raking in money, staying in the nicest places, eating the finest foods, and socializing within the highest classes. We were full blown celebrities along with being full time superheroes/fairies. Our numerous tours took care of the latter for us though; with the popularity of our band, belief in fairies was a world-wide phenomenon within a year. By the time our careers in music had ended, the Earth was over populated with fairies, and we were no longer needed._

_We all got used to life on the move, learning to never pack a suitcase because when we would get to the next hotel, the basics were already provided for us along with fully stocked, super chic wardrobes for each of us. I never got used to that part though. I preferred to choose my own clothes and so did my friends, except Stella. She loved all of the couture and vintage pieces she got to wear. To keep us from getting homesick, we all would carry small packs around with us with the few things we loved most, mine being a photo of my mother, my headphones, and my old comfy jeans and a tee that I would lounge around in on one of our rare days off._

_That was another thing: We were extremely overworked. By that point, we barely ever got days off. We rehearsed for obscene amounts of hours and would sometimes have to lip synch because of damaged vocals during said rehearsals. I remembered Jason becoming so furious when Tecna collapsed of exhaustion one day. She hadn't gotten any sleep from being forced to pull an all-nighter the day before and she hadn't even gotten the chance to sit down in days. He was screaming like a mad man and had one of the stage crew guys throw a bucket of ice water on her head to wake her up. It worked and she played, but that night at the show, she collapsed again and there were no words to describe Jason's reaction. He screamed for days about the money that was lost and our poor work ethics. Let's just say that from that point on, we were worked even harder than before._

_With the abuse on set, we would often escape in the night, dressing up in high heels and micro-minis to go out clubbing all night. We would drown ourselves in the heavy beats and strong liquors until we couldn't think of Jason, or performing, or anything else. Clubbing was our escape, our safe haven. We never thought it would do us any harm, but soon we were going out almost every night, staying up later and later, missing rehearsals to get wasted, barely getting any sleep at all._

_I didn't know if that was even the extent of it all. There was so much I had missed, my memory erased by the toxins I had placed in my body for all that time. I could vaguely remember walking into the room many of nights and being welcomed by the smell of blood, beer, and mixtures of various drugs. I can even remember seeing the silhouette of someone lying on the bathroom floor next to a spilled bottle of pills once. I never got the chance to place a face. We should've seen that we were headed in a bad direction, but we were too lost by that point to seek help._

_We reached an all-time low when the cops had to come to the local bar we were at in Paris one night. Layla had started a full-blown drunken gang fight in the middle of the dance floor with a large woman whom she claimed had shoved her. There was blood and weave everywhere and Layla had to go to the hospital to get stitches on her left cheek from where the other woman's fist had broken her skin. Afterwards, she was escorted to the police station where she had to spend the night in lock-up for a public disturbance. Jason held the rest of us on lock down for the rest of the night, refusing all press from entering our suite._

_The tabloids caught a hold of us anyway as they always did, blowing the whole mess up in our faces, calling us alcoholics, which we probably were at the time, and party girls, also obviously true. Our fans never saw us that way though; we made sure of that by keeping out private lives very private, even using fake names and wigs while we were out. The story faded away in a matter of days to be replaced by the next scandal in line, and after a very short court hearing, all was forgiven._

_Needless to say, after the judge released Layla out on bail, Jason canceled the rest of that tour and put us into a rehab clinic. It was posh and relaxing, but did us no good. We were in and out and back on stage in no time, meaning we were back out in the clubs after only a few months absence. We didn't party as hard as we had before, but a new kind of nighttime activity took place of all the booze._

_It was boys. Men, to be exact. By that time, were all barely twenty, Stella twenty one, and we were women without men. Not just that, we were attractive, famous women without men. Our boyfriends were never around; they had left for their duties at Magix and such, so one could only imagine that we attracted men like bees to honey. We never had to work at all to find a late night, one time hook up. Men literally threw themselves at us, hoping to get the chance to be ours for the night. Stella was the worst of all of us, showing no shame in her casual flings and one night stands. Her motto always was as long as Brandon didn't see it, she could do it. And boy did she do a lot. Now, I wasn't a saint, I know I wasn't, but she had no regrets about any of it, not one single thing._

_One night, the night I will never forget, I found Stella in the middle of ripping her clothes off for two naked men laying on the bed in front of her, her breasts flashing them as they jerked off to her strip-tease. I was absolutely mortified at what was happening and threw them out, calling security to do so. I didn't care if they were all naked; it was disgusting. Stella screamed at me the entire time, throwing things at me and cursing me out. We had a full blown fight, right there in the middle of our penthouse suite, and had our friends not been there to hold the both of us back, there would've been some serious bloodshed. It was bad, really bad, and she refused to talk to me for the rest of that tour._

_After that fight, the rest of our pop star days were blurred to me. All I could really pick out were a few drunken nights and some things I never should've done. Like, I never should've lost my virginity in a sleazy motel bathroom to a guy I had just met in a bar. I freaked out for weeks, praying that I wasn't pregnant and was flooded with relief when three of those little tests came back negative. I also shouldn't have gone and slept with another drunken man the same night to 'celebrate' my non-pregnancy. That man did knock me up and sent me rushing out of my hotel room at three a.m. two months later to get a quickie abortion at the local clinic._

_That was the lowest point of my life at that point. I wanted to keep the baby, give it up for adoption, but Jason pressured me into an abortion. "You're too young to be a mom" he would say like he was my father. That and "Think about your future, your image, your music, your fans!" My friends weren't too helpful either. They looked at me like I was some kind of whore while I was pregnant and then looked at me like I was some sort of baby killer when I had actually gotten the abortion like they had wanted me to. Life really sucked for me at that point._

_There's one day, however, that I will always remember. It came out of nowhere, and I didn't know whether to take it as an omen or a blessing. All I remember was Jason coming up to us one day during rehearsal with a large stack of papers in his hands. He came up to the stage and simply said "Girls, we're through," dropping the papers on the stage at our feet. Of course, being as young and naive as we were, we were genuinely confused and hurt by this. Jason seemed sympathetic enough as he told us that we were, after two years, 'past our prime' and 'yesterday's news'. Basically what it came down to was, was that we were being cut for someone new and fresh because the world had had its fill of the Winx girls and their pop love songs. They were moving on._

_After days of tears and broken hearts and deliberation, we signed our resignation contracts and finished our last tour on a sour note. We would keep all of the money we made, money that I believe still sits in an unnamed Swiss bank account, untouched and unopened, and we would still sell CDs and such, but there was no more future for the Winx girls. We sat in our hotel room after the last show bawling our eyes out. At that time, we felt like we had lost our dream, but now, I look at it as a blessing. I wouldn't want to think about what would've happened if we would've remained in our clubbing lives. I probably would've been long dead by now._

_Our final tour ended too quickly, and we returned to Gardenia after being gone for nearly two years. The Love and Pet shop had been bought and replaced with a tattoo parlor, so we used the remaining cash in our wallets to rent out a nice apartment near Bloom's parents. It was a good place, but after living the high life for such a long time, we had become spoiled brats and snobs. We didn't get jobs; we just lived off of the thousands of dollars we kept on ourselves at all times. We lived that way for a few months, just chilling, until we received some much unexpected news._

_There was a call from the Specialists one day, something we rarely ever got anymore. They were always in some sort of contact with us, but the touring made it hard for regular communication, and the boys were busy with their own lives. Our relationships were strained and almost nonexistent at that point. This was the first we had heard back from them in months, but it wasn't a catch-up call. It was a distress call._

_Magix had been seized by a powerful wizard named Demetri. He and his ring of followers, including the Trix, Baltor, and more ancient, unseen evils, had been pillaging and conquering entire planets and systems for weeks now. The magical dimension was in utter chaos; our boyfriends were fighting for their lives, and we were on Earth doing absolutely nothing._

_That day, I remember clearly. Evils were rising. Magix had fallen. And the entire magical dimension was on the brink of war._


	3. Chapter 2 Part 1

Chapter 2 Part 1 – The Dogs of War

_No one ever told us anything about war. What we knew, we learned by experience over the years of fighting increasingly annoying bad guys who always seemed to want the same two things: total power over the universe and Bloom. It was the same story; therefore, it was always the same methods of destruction. With each year, as we grew stronger, each villain would do the same, defeating us with ease at first, but after a while, would slowly fade to our increasing power. Our opponents had always grown with us, but we never expected to face anything like Demetri. With him, things were much different. This guy didn't want Bloom, or control of the universe, he just wanted to watch it burn and tear itself to shreds. He wreaked havoc, the people's deaths and terror only feeding his nearly unlimited and undefeatable powers. _

_By the time we had arrived in Magix, nearly half a year since the start of his rampage; all that was left were ruins of a fallen city. We walked for days through stone and ash, camping in the sewers, travelling at night to avoid being captured. We learned that the hard way, our ship being shot down upon our landing and promptly ransacked. We were held as prisoners for days before reaching an opportunity to escape, slipping from the execution lines with our last scraps of power as his army of fire demons prepared our nooses. _

_Demetri had left no survivors; that much was evident in the blood that stained the streets, and as we walked through the former campuses of Red Fountain and Cloud Tower, we realized that no one may be left at all. The buildings lay in cinders at our feet, capes and swords of fallen heroes littered on the scorched grass. We couldn't bear to look at the corpses. The whole school had been ripped from the sky, the complex lying defeated at its side, the flight stabilizers ripped out, according to Tecna. It was obvious that hundreds of Specialists lost their lives in the free fall. Cloud Tower wasn't any better with the foundation ripped from the mountain side, the school vanished in the chasm below._

_Walking through the forest, we reached new levels of desperation as we fought the once-peaceful animals for shelter and resources. The trees had been all but burned everywhere except a few places, and whatever foliage was left was occupied by hostile creatures. We lived off of the charred soil, the barren land, digging for water as we struggled to find a way off of our ravaged home. Living like nomads, we never stayed anywhere twice, fear of being captured again making us paranoid, and with no one left to call for help, we were beginning to feel stranded, like someone wanted us to die in this barren wasteland. _

_It was only by sheer chance that we ran into Alfea._

_The school was unrecognizable, the winged gate warped and twisted, stained a dark grey color. The paint was peeling, the infrastructure rusting, and one of the delicate glass wings had shattered to the ground. The wall around the school was all but gone, plaster waning and disintegrating more and more with our touch, so we were able to enter with ease, stepping over the concrete of fallen towers. I couldn't even recognize where I was inside, all the windows fractured or missing completely, the courtyard pocket marked with scorches. The entire left wing was gone, and from the looks of it, the right one was collapsing right in front of our eyes. It almost made me want to cry._

_And so now I can tell you that I lied. This, what happened next, and from here on out was where everything changed…_

I stepped lightly onto the stone steps of my beloved school, the tears threatening to come at the sight of this once proud stronghold reduced to rubble at the hands of a mad man. From those steps I could see the full extent of his damage, just how badly he had hurt my home. There was still smoke in the air, still debris across the path, pages of books littered and scorched to a blackish brown until their words were unrecognizable. And there, amongst the pages and wood shavings and glass shards and dust, lied a pair of pink hair berets, perfectly preserved, untouched and waiting to be worn. I reached down to pick them up, and allowed my soul to grieve for the fairy that could never again get to wear these. Something so simple, yet I was sure something sorely missed.

My friends wandered around as well, our faces and findings all holding the same sense of utter loss and sadness. We were standing on a tomb, the tomb of dozens of fairies long gone in hopes of a better future. The future of innocence lost in shambles.

There was a crack on the ground, the snap of a twig, and immediately I looked up. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. Either we were being stalked by an animal or hunted down by the demon army, but either way it spelled death. Posed to fight, we all transformed, ready to take on whoever had the gall to corner us. We were beyond ready to avenge this place we called our home. But what came out from the shadows was by far not what we had expected.

Girls, fairies to be exact, all emerged from the shadows, metal-bladed swords posed to fight. They were garbed in black body suits, blending into the shadows as to not be seen, and they looked fierce, eyes glowing with distrust. They had circled around us, forcing us into the center of their ring. I was breathing heavily, the metal coming so close to my face, and for the first time in a long time, I had no idea what to do. Even with magic, I highly doubted we would win this fight in the condition we were in.

Thank God that someone spoke out, an angel to spare our lives.

"Stand down!" the voice commanded, and elderly woman's for sure.

Lowering their weapons, the girls obeyed and sheathed their swords, parting way to reveal another woman garbed in black, but this time the frame was small and plumper, the headmistress herself Ms. Faragonda. As relieved I was to see her, she didn't not looked pleased to see us. Her face looked like it had aged ten years and her eyes bit out most of her previous gaiety. She was war hardened, and it scared us.

"Ms. F? What's going on? What happened here?" Bloom asked, stepping forward to speak for us, as always.

"Follow me girls. We need to get where it's safe," she ordered, and turned her back to us.

The girls in black followed her into the school where they formed a ring around the circular mosaic murals on the floor. Making room for us in the center, we followed our headmistress through the sea of girls, though we did not receive a word of our questions. Suddenly, the floor shuddered and began to sink below the surface, taking us far below Alfea.

The ride was fairly short and smooth, the elevator dropping us off right in the middle of what appeared to be a factory/laboratory of sorts. There were computers going, labs buzzing, weapons testing, training, and what appeared to be battle strategy meetings all going on in what appeared to be a space the size of a football stadium. There were more girls in black on the inside, all working intently on their jobs. Even though there were a lot of them, I suspected no more than two hundred total. Adding things up in my mind, I figured that this was all of what remained of Alfea School for Fairies.

But, as if to state the obvious, Stella had to interject in on my thoughts.

"Ms. F? Where are we?"

Still no answer from anyone. The elevator had stopped, the girls promptly jumping off before it rose once more. They all scattered, leaving us alone with Ms. F. Tecna said something about an automatic timer, but I wasn't paying attention. This was all too surreal to take in. The whole place was sterile, metal walls, metal floors, artificial lighting, everything screamed secret underground rebellion base, but no one said it out loud. Everyone was too on guard to joke, and it was obvious that Alfea had been turned into an army.

"This way girls," Ms. F called as she clipped down the ramp to the floor below.

We had to practically run to keep up with her, weaving through piles of files and barrels of ammunition. It was if they were stocking up for battle, which I guess they were, or had to in the past. After maneuvering through the collection of different departments all shoved together, we arrived at what looked to be a makeshift office, flimsy metal cubicle walls cordoning off a gracious space to house Ms. F and all her supplies, including the mirror she had obviously saved from her office. Of all the things to bring, honestly?

There were no chairs, so we were left standing in front of her scratched desk as she sat down, hands clasped in front of her, lips pursed in a frown.

"As you can see we've had to relocate," Ms. F sighed as we took in our new surroundings.

"Yeah…nice…" Layla mused as she noticed a leak sprouting from the metal rafters above.

"Well, we couldn't stay in the school now could we?" the old woman jabbed, making Layla flinch a little. "After the battle we needed somewhere safe to regroup, somewhere out of plain sight. So, we reinstated the catacombs, got as many girls as we could out and then let the school fall."

"You let the school fall?" Tecna muttered, her mind not really comprehending the implications of that statement. "You mean you just abandoned the girls you left in the school, sent them to die?"

"Like you are the ones to judge," she flared, rising to meet Tecna on eye-level. "When I needed you most you weren't there. When Magix was falling and we needed all fairies to join the fight, you weren't there. When girls were dying, girls I helped to grow, girls I inspired to take a stand were dying, you weren't there. You didn't have to make the hard choices. You weren't here to save anyone. I did what I did to save as many girls as I could; I couldn't risk any more lives than that."

She was shaking, her hands in fists, slamming them on the table. If this was months ago, maybe she would've cried, but not now. There was no time for tears. Tears were weakness, and weakness wasn't what made you strong. It wasn't what kept you alive.

"Ms. F, we didn't know. Really, we had no idea…" Flora said meekly, tears in her eyes.

"We came as soon as we got word, we swear. It's just-" I tried, failing for words.

"Just what? That a war wasn't as important to you as fame and fortune?"

"No! Of course not, it's just-" I scrambled again. No matter what I said, it was going to come out wrong.

"I don't care, really, I don't. Save your apologies for the girls who died that day."

And we were all silent after that, the whole arena deathly silent though it was loud with the sound of running generators and motors. I swore that we were all about to cry, and Ms. F. looked just about ready to kick us back out. Thankfully, Bloom was the stronger person, taking a stand.

"We can't change what we've done, what we didn't do. But we're here now, and we'd like to help," Bloom stated firmly, stepping to the front of Ms. F's desk.

The elderly woman eyed us warily, taking in our ratty appearances. She looked so old, so untrusting, and so different from the headmistress we knew and loved. It was like we were looking at a stranger in a black combat suit, and we didn't know if this Ms. Faragonda would be willing to help us.

Finally, after much silence, Ms. F signaled for someone across the room, waving her hand just slightly. All of us tensed again, fear of what would happen to us over running all other emotions. Were we being sentenced to die?

"Fine. You want to help, fine," she stated plainly, rising to meet two girls in black that had appeared in the office opening. They were just as skeptical looking as Ms. F. was, eying us from head to toe. One of the girls even rolled her eyes, but one look from Ms. F stopped her cold. She nodded to her, and immediately something changed in the girls' demeanors. They vanished only for a second before four more girls appeared by their side, one holding a thick golden book in her pale, scarred hands.

"Do you know what this is?" Mrs F. asked, almost as if we were in school again.

"The Book of Winx," I replied solemnly, having been privy to the tome's information in the past. It had helped them achieve Enchantix just a year before.

"Yes, you are correct. But now, it serves a different purpose," Mrs. F replied, taking the book from the girl's hands. She gave a curt nod, and the girls bowed and were promptly dismissed. Turning back to us, she continued. "This book is our guide, our most prized possession. If Demetri was to obtain it, his magic would be limitless."

"So you want us to protect it?" Stella asked, offering her opinion.

"Oh, heavens no. We are already doing that better than you ever could," she waved the idea away, the dig hurting just a little. "I want you to swear on it."

"Swear what on it?" Tecna asked, taking a cautious step forward, examining the book from all angles.

"You said you wanted to help, so I want you to prove it," Mrs. F said impatiently. "Swear on this ancient text that you will give your life in devotion to liberating Magix and the rest of the magical dimension from Demetri. Swear that you will stand and fight with me, with all of us, your sisters, and then you will have proven to me that you want to help."

We were all absorbing this, weighing our options. I knew that I wanted to help my school - that I desperately wanted Demetri gone, but willing to die for Magix, I wasn't so sure about. I had no idea what state my own planet was in, and it was far more important to me, no matter what. However, I knew we were dead in the water if we didn't help Mrs. F. She wouldn't trust us, and she sure as hell wouldn't help us if we denied her now. She wasn't who she was before. So, we really had no choice. We were forced into the draft.

Slowly, Flora and Bloom stepped forwards and placed their hands on the book.

"I swear," they both said earnestly.

"I swear," Tecna said next, hand placed tentatively on the book.

"I swear," Layla enforced, looking fierce and ready for battle.

"Me too," Stella piped up, her hand placed on top.

Then, I stepped forward and looked all my friends in the eyes. They were all focused, determined to help, and so was I, however unwilling as I was to go off to war. We were all in this together.

"I swear," I stated, nodding my head.

Mrs. F. smiled a little, almost grimly. She then took the book away, placing it on her desk gently. The girls came back, again from out of nowhere, each now holding a black bundle in their hands.

"Now girls, time to suit up. You have a lot of catching up to do."


	4. Chapter 2 Part 2

Chapter 2 Part 2 – Day One

We were debriefed shortly after we were dismissed from Ms. F's "office". We had barely had time to change into our new outfits, which were not nearly as comfortable as they looked. The black leather was uniform all the way around and clung to every pore on my body from my neck to my wrists and ankles. The boots weren't much better. I could barely breathe let alone move properly. When we all came out looking like identical pained creatures, the other girls snickered at us.

"It won't last like that forever," Ms. F. smiled, suppressing her own laugh. "They'll get broken in soon enough."

And that was all she said as we had to practically waddle into the meeting hall, which was basically a large wooden table big enough to seat thirty set smack dab in the middle of the intelligence center, a giant monitor complex set up in front of us. A few other girls sat near the end of the table, looking curiously at us who had sat in the front, close to Ms. F. who was powering the computers up.

"Now, pay attention girls," Ms. F. instructed as the screens flickered to life. "And brace yourselves."

The whole display was a horror show of slides and facts. I thought I would be sick, and I swore Flora was crying by the end. All I had learned by the time it had finished was that this was suicide mission.

According to intelligence, the battle lines had been drawn far before anyone had gotten hold of them. Apparently, as soon as we left for Earth, Demetri put his grand schemes into motion. He seized the magical dimension by storm. Starting with the outer-galaxy planet of Requiem, he knocked down every nation where it stood. Governments toppled from the inside, his spies already weakening their infrastructures to the desperation point by the time he charged in. Whoever didn't join him was eliminated or forced into submission. He had already won the war before it begun; as we began to find out, Demetri owned everyone.

But the worst part was having to watch it all, playing before us like a horror movie.

The most disturbing thing came later in the conversation. We found out that most of the Red Fountain guys were brainwashed into becoming part of Demetri's guard during his assault on the school. He had Saladin executed on the spot, just has he had stepped out of his beloved school. The witches joined Demetri willingly, except for Mrs. Griffin and a few others who stood with her. She had perished along with countless other fairies who tried to fend him off during the initial attacks on Magix. It was a miracle that Mrs. Faragonda had survived, telling the remaining students to seek refuge in the school's underground tunnels, now home to the Magix Resistance Force. Unfortunately, there were only about a hundred or so fairies left, about half the force being local citizens.

Roxy was nowhere to be found; she wasn't among the ranks. They assumed that she perished in the last attack, no more than a few weeks prior. That's when Flora actually did start to cry.

I had to leave the table after that, walking far away from those horrid computer screens and over to a desk across the aisle way. I could not take much more of this despair, this ruin. It almost made me sick to wonder what Melody was like after seeing all that.

Ms. F. thankfully ended the meeting shortly afterwards, shutting off the computers. Her face was grim and pained as ours were, just more subdued; it was clear that she was used to talking about this, probably tired of explaining things over and over again to lost fairies and new recruits.

Speaking of new recruits, apparently we weren't the only ones to be found that day.

Just as we were getting up, an alarm sounded and every girl sprung up in a defensive position while others reached for weapons, moving to the rising platform. Ms. F was obviously back into battle mode, her eyes strong as steel and calculating. She barked a few orders to the girls on the platform and they raised it, disappearing into the school above, sealing the magical gap.

We all waited for what appeared to be a full scale attack, but all we got was silence. It was quiet; not a sound was made, and Ms. F's hand never fell from where it was raised in a "halt" command. We were scared to breathe really, the girls and I more than anyone. We hadn't been trained yet. We didn't know how to fight Demetri yet and there was a very real possibility that an attack by him would be the last fight we ever fought.

But, instead of battle cries and magic attacks, there was an SOS from above, requesting medical assistance of all things. Ms. F lowered her hand and pointed at a few girls across the way, almost identical brunettes with hair done up in high ponytails and crisp white lab coats. They nodded and disappeared into the crowd. There was chaos, ordered but mass chaos across the HQ. Apparently, this was a first to them as well.

Slowly, Ms. F commanded order and the chatter died as the elevator came back down, the ponytail girls on it as well as six others. So, there was more than one way to get back up to the school. I made a quick mental note to, as soon as I got on Ms. F's good side, do some exploring around the hub.

I was brought out of my reverie as soon as I saw what exactly was on the lift. It horrified me. There, lying in between the two ponytail girls and three disgusted, frightened sentries, covered in black goo, were three girls, all writhing in intense pain.

And then a different kind of chaos ensued. The angry kind, the type where you just know that something horrible has happened even though you know absolutely nothing that is going on. Oh, Ms. F. was in a frenzy, her eyes and motions manic as she rushed around, screaming out orders to the girls who were swarming the three on the lift. There were medical terms shouted about as makeshift gurneys were constructed and clear bags of chemical liquids were prepared - IVs. It was intimidating to say the least, and a hell of a lot to go through on our first day.

We were completely ignored as a hospital was constructed right in front of our eyes.

The three girls were carried away behind closed curtains, the two ponytail girls throwing on what appeared to be scrubs overtop of their coats. The others helped them while the rest finished the tent-like structure that now took up the center on the aisle way. Ms. F. was pacing the floor, flinching every time she heard a scream or cry from the inside. She tried to break in more than once, but for the first time, she was denied and held back from intruding.

Finally, after what had felt like an eternity standing on pins and needles, the two girls returned, their scrubs covered in the black goo. As they came closer to us and Ms. F, I realized that the substance wasn't goo…it was more like a liquid…black blood. Their faces were grim, set in taut lines as they saluted her in respect.

"No. No." Ms. F shook her head, her voice cold. "What the hell happened?!"

"We're sorry Headmistress, but there was nothing we could do for them," the first girl said solemnly, shaking her head.

"We tried everything we could, but their bodies…they're just too far gone now," the other one said, trying to soften the information.

"No. I refuse to believe that. I want to see them. Now."

Ms. F. looked absolutely murderous, but there was something else in her eyes now, a slight quiver to her voice. She was scared, and it made me wonder exactly who those girls were.

"Headmistress, I don't think that is such…" The first ponytail girl was cut off, her mouth still open and ready to continue on.

"I don't care if it is a good idea! I want to see her. NOW!"

Ms. F. was losing it quicker and quicker by the minute. The two girls both looked at each other, both aware of the fact of her rising temper, and exchanged a look. After what I assumed was silent conversation, they let Ms. F. pass, and she rushed into the tent.

We didn't hear a word, not a sound or a peep. Not even muffled talking or screaming. There was no trace of the angry Ms. F, and we were worried. We followed the ponytail girls into the tents, and were horrified at the scene that lied within.

The whole place smelled like rotting flesh mixed with a dull iron scent – blood. All the girls were hooked up to repurposed computers, now reading their vital stats. They were low, dangerously low, but steady. They probably wouldn't make it though, their frail, pale bodies twitching on the gurneys. They were still covered in black, which now that I could see more clearly, came from huge spots all over their bodies. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before.

Ms. F. was only focused on one of the girls though, the one with long honey-colored hair and her eyes partly open, murmuring nonsense words as she moved on the table. Ms. F's face was unreadable.

"It's unlike anything we've ever seen. This…_disease _Demetri gave them is beyond all our knowledge," a ponytail girl said, but I didn't catch which one. I was too grotesquely amazed at what I was seeing. This was too gruesome to be anything medical.

"Reminds me of the black plague…" Bloom muttered under her breath as she too tried to believe what she was seeing.

"What?" the ponytail girls rounded on her, obviously waiting for what she had to say, eager for information.

"It reminds me of this ancient disease we had on Earth called the Bubonic Plague, the Black Death. People would get lumps on their bodies that would ooze blood and puss, and a whole bunch of other things," Bloom trailed off, trying not to gag. The two ponytail girls looked hopeful now, like they could save their friends, but Bloom's face was still grim. "The victims usually died within a week of getting it. There is a cure now, but this looks bad. By the time we got to earth and back again, they'd probably be dead. I'm sorry."

The two ponytail girls nodded, almost in solemn agreement. I was sure they could tell this by the girls' bio stats, but I was also sure that they appreciated the attempt.

"Headmistress, this disease is clearly highly contagious. The girls won't survive much longer, even with medical assistance," one stated plainly, weighing the information.

"I agree. I think it's in everyone's best interest if we terminate the problem," the other concurred.

Ms. F. flinched at the ponytail girl's words. "No."

"Think of it as a kindness Ma'am," the other tried. "They're in so much pain right now, and they'll spend their last moments of life in pain. Don't let them prolong that suffering. You know they wouldn't have wanted that."

"They would've wanted us to carry on. She would've wanted you to carry on,"

Ms. F. was shaking now, but silently, so whether it was in anger or in sadness I had no clue. However, slowly, she got up to lean over the dying girl and place a kiss on the clean part of her forehead. Turning around, she looked at none of us as she left, stomping off. She was escorted away by two more girls, leading her around a corner and out of sight.

The two ponytail girls let out a sigh of relief, hustling about to shut off computers and remove IVs. The whole place was becoming unhooked; all that work only lasted an hour tops.

"I'm going to schedule everyone for a mandatory scrub down so that the plague doesn't spread," one ponytail girl said, messing around on her tablet.

"I'll start the shut-down…" the other said as she turned to Bloom. "How long did you say we had before we showed symptoms?"

"I don't know how long it takes for it to spread, but the sooner, the better. This thing spread like wildfire in the past. It killed whole countries."

"We should've known Demetri would try something this underhanded. We should've known it was a trap…" a ponytail girl hissed under her breath.

"Excuse me?" I asked, confused now.

The two girls exchanged looks again. Actually, now that they were so close together, I could see that one had a darker shade of hair than the other, and the other's hair curled slightly at the ends.

"The war," the girl with the straight hair said without looking up, as if her statement was obvious, but it wasn't.

"We've been trying to loosen Demetri's hold on this planet for a long time now, so when we got the schematics to his stronghold here on Magix, we should've known something wasn't right," the curlier girl started.

"We got so much farther than we had hoped for. Victory was literally in our reach when we lost transmission. Of course, they'd been found out; the plan had failed. These three girls were the ones who volunteered for the mission, and a few days ago we reported them missing in action until today when the scouts found them dumped on the edge of the forest," the other finished, pulling all the final plugs, moving over to the girl with the honey hair last. "They were some of our best girls, special ops, field agents. So brave…"

"Is that why Ms. F. is so upset? She lost her best girls?" Stella asked.

"Partly," the darker haired girl said warily, stroking the dying girl's face. "But not really."

Suddenly, things were clicking, and I got up the nerve to ask, "Who is she?"

The two ponytail girls looked up at me, both a tad bit stricken. Even a few of the girls looked at me strangely. I hoped I hadn't crossed some sort of line.

"Anya," the curly haired girl replied softly. "She was a freshman, actually. Very powerful, very driven, and almost as famous as you guys."

"What?" Layla asked, incredulous.

"You haven't been away that long. Everyone knows the legends of the Winx Club. You were like Alfea idols, what everyone wanted to be," curly haired girl replied, looking away.

"That is until you left us…" the darker haired girl bit in, contempt obvious.

The little ego-fest had ended, and I was afraid that if I didn't reel the train in soon, that it would crash and burn.

"Yes, and we're sorry but we're here now. But that's not what's important about her is it?" I pressed until I had the girls' full attention. They both looked around, reluctant to answer.

"No, it's not…" the darker haired girl finally gave, leaning over a table that held the girl. "She is the Headmistress's niece."

We were all silent, taking the news in. I was ready for her to say something like family friend, protégé, assistant, but never niece. She might as well have said daughter. As far as I had known, Ms. F. had no family. But there she was, the only known relative, slowly dying of the black disease that plagued her.

"That would explain Ms. F's behavior…" Flora said softly.

"And the fact that she's a freshman explains why have never known of her…" Tecna added, not really making things better.

This whole thing was just too much, too much after this long day. I didn't want to see anyone else die.

"And you're just going to let her die?" I asked, both numbed and shocked at the thought.

"What other choice do we have? It's them or us, and we can't risk the lives of hundreds to save three girls who may or may not make it past the hour," the curly haired girl said, the metal returning to her voice. Everyone around here was too defensive, too on guard. It made me miss the old Alfea. "Besides, Headmistress knows it is for the best. She knew the risks in sending Anya on the mission. And she is a tough woman. We will all carry on."

The conversation was over; I could tell that by the way the pair turned their backs on us, returning their focuses to their tablet things. They were tapping away furiously; it was all part of the job.

"Pull the plugs. Dispose of the bodies in the traditional manner. We need to clear out by eighteen hundred for sparring practice," the darker haired one instructed the other, and together they began breaking down what they had built as others automatically came to help. The bodies were unhooked and literally carried away in the blink of an eye, my own eyes not seeing where they had been taken. I didn't want to.

It was all too disturbing.

_They were so sure, so devoid of emotion that it hurt me, and really, at the time, I didn't fully understand. But I would, and soon I too would fall into the chasm of emotional hell, but the main difference would be that no one would be there to save me when I fell. I would crash and I would burn and everything I loved would silently slip away._

* * *

**A/N: **So, hopefully you guys are liking the new story, and hopefully chapter 2 part 3 will be up sometime soon. I plan to keep this style, where the main events are divided into chapters and the action within that period of time happens in parts. I just think it helps with originization :)


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